Firefox cannot keep track of the fact that it's already up to date
Mac OS X High Sierra 10.13.6
Here's the routine with FF on this machine: If FF 68.0.2 is running, after a while I will try to open a new tab and be told "Sorry we need to do one small thing to keep going, FF has been updated in the background, Restart FF" I do so. It opens up a new, clean profile in a new window (About FF now says 68.0.1 in this version of FF, and it downloads 68.0.2 and prompts to Restart FF (again)). At which point it runs "a new helper tool" and re-updates FF to 68.0.2. I then have to mess with about:profiles to go back to my profile. Things then run routinely for a few hours or a day, before the whole routine starts over again.
Alternately, if FF 68.0.2 is not running, if I open it (after opening and closing it several times without issue), I will get a message that "You've launched an older version of FF, Create New Profile or Quit". Create New Profile leads me through the routine above.
Versions of the above routine have happened not just between 68.0.2 and 68.0.1, but also between earlier version updates. That is, this has been going on for months. It does seem in the last couple of weeks that the interval of time has shortened and I'm having to do this routine everyday or even multiple times a day. I have no problems like this with FF on any other machine.
I've tried:
Trashing FF and re-dl'ing from Mozilla. No dice. Trashing FF, trashing Library/Cache/Mozilla and Firefox folders. No dice. Trashing FF, trashing Library/Application Support/Firefox/Profiles (and re-signing in to retrieve my existing bookmarks etc and re-setting up View and other Preferences). No dice.
If anyone has any ideas, I'll be grateful, thanks in advance.
All Replies (20)
Sorry about the double-posting of the images.
Firefox always shows "Update Ready to Install" :MAC Only SOLUTION: Remove /Users/==<UserName>==/Library/Caches/Mozilla/ which contained the directory /updates/Applications/Firefox/updates/
/Users/$u/Library/Caches/Mozilla/
If the above does not help; Let’s do a full clean re-install;
Note: Firefox comes in three or more folders on all computers. They are;
Maintenance: (Programs Folder) <Windows Only> Firefox itself: (Programs Folder) And two folders in the profile of each user on the computer for each Firefox profile for that user.
If you remove the Firefox folder, the user profiles would not be affected.
Download Firefox For All languages And Systems {web link}
Save the file. Then Close Firefox.
Using your file browser, open the Programs Folder on your computer.
Windows: C:\Program Files C:\Program Files (x86) Note: Check Both Folders
Mac: Open the "Applications" folder. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-download-and-install-firefox-mac
Linux: Check your user manual. If you installed Firefox with the distro-based package manager, you should use the same way to uninstall it. See Install Firefox on Linux; https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/install-firefox-linux
If you downloaded and installed the binary package from the Firefox download page, simply remove the folder Firefox in your home directory. http://www.mozilla.org/firefox#desktop ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Look for, and remove any Mozilla or Firefox program folders. Do not remove the Mozilla Thunderbird folder if there is one.
Do Not remove any profile folders.
After rebooting the computer, run a registry scanner if you have one. Then run the installer. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ If there is a problem, start your Computer in safe mode and try again.
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Linux+Safe+Mode This shows how to Start all Computers in Safe Mode; Free Online Encyclopedia
Sad update: I had thought that the first solution posted, removing the Mozilla update cache folder, had solved the problem. The behavior stopped occurring between 68.0.2 and 68.0.1.
But now that 69.0 has been released, it's recurring all over again, the exact same behavior, only it cannot keep track that 69.0 has been installed. It reverts to 68.0.2, then re-installs 69.0.
A "clean install" has already been tried as a solution, to no success.
I called for more help.
Thank you Fred. I have rooted around in every Firefox and Mozilla library folder I could find to see if I could identify a trigger, but nothing's turned up.
It's odd that it was stable for several days, but it has now resumed this loop every day so far this week.
Hi David!
The Refresh feature (called "Reset" in older Firefox versions) can fix many issues by restoring Firefox to its factory default state while saving your bookmarks, history, passwords, cookies, and other essential information.
Note: When you use this feature, you will lose any extensions, toolbar customizations, and some preferences. See the Refresh Firefox - reset add-ons and settings article for more information.
To Refresh Firefox:
- Open the Troubleshooting Information page using one of these methods:
- Click the menu button
, click help 
and select Troubleshooting Information. A new tab containing your troubleshooting information should open.
- If you're unable to access the Help menu, type about:support in your address bar to bring up the Troubleshooting Information page.
- Click the menu button
- At the top right corner of the page, you should see a button that says "Refresh Firefox" ("Reset Firefox" in older Firefox versions). Click on it.
- Firefox will close. After the refresh process is completed, Firefox will show a window with the information that is imported.
- Click Finish and Firefox will reopen.
Did this fix the problem? Please report back to us!
Thanks!
Hi Alex, I'm sorry to report that this did not solve the problem. I did the refresh steps yesterday afternoon, but this morning came in and it went through the same routine again.
I will add, in case it is at all related:
Before this behavior started a couple months ago, for a very long time (over a year), when FF updated, I would (intermittently) get the "FF needs to install a helper tool" prompt, attached, which necessitated the Administrator password for the machine. Annoying, but I could live with it (it didn't seem to happen at every update).
This new additional routine, though, is daily and maddening.
Update: This behavior has continued every day this week, somewhere about 9 or 10 a.m. Today I uninstalled Firefox completely, removed all FF Library>App Support items (except Profiles), removed FF and Mozilla Cache items as well. Deleted the Trash. Shut down my machine. Restarted the machine. Re-downloaded from Mozilla FF 69.0.1 and installed.
It immediately reverted back to 68.0.2 WHICH JUST HAD BEEN UNINSTALLED, and ran through the update routine as if I had not just clean installed 69.0.1.
I'm pretty fascinated by this, when I'm not annoyed by it. Also fascinating that no one has offered any solution.
I'm probably going to uncheck Automatically Install Updates so I work, but if anyone is interested and still reading....
How do you completely turn off update checks in Firefox v64? You can use a policies.json file to disable updates for all users. https://github.com/mozilla/policy-templates/blob/master/README.md or https://winaero.com/blog/disable-updates-firefox-63-above/
I'm not completely turning off update checks, just turning off Automatically Install Updates (in Preferences). I expect this will at least kill the bizarre routine where FF reverts back to the prior version and forces me to go through this stupid routine. But hey, maybe it won't kill it, and that would be interesting to know also. At that point maybe I would try a json file to disable updates.
In Preferences it's a radio button, and the alternate is "Check for updates but let you choose to install them."
This is interesting, or possibly nothing. In Preferences, Show Update History, it shows the installation date of today, but also says the "Status" is "Install Pending".
Welp, so much for that. Changing to "Check for updates but let you choose to install them" did not change anything. FF still reverted to 68.0.2 and made me re-update to 69.0.1 this morning.
It's unfathomable to me that no one else has this problem, and that no one can solve it. It continues, nearly daily, sometime in the morning. Firefox is updated, and then becomes NOT updated, reverts to the earlier version, and forces me to re-update and re-establish my profile.
I've done multiple clean full installs, trashing the application and all Firefox and Mozilla Library cache and app support folders that I can find, including my profile (which, it must be said, works fine on my home machine, none of this issue).
I've deleted all add-ons and extensions (I only use a few anyway). No change.
I've consulted my company's Mac consultant about it, and they have no clue either.
Currently doing battle between versions 69.0.3 and 70.0.1, every morning. I would really appreciate some help if anyone can provide it.
Did you check the clock on your computer to make sure it is always set to the correct time in case there are sometimes glitches that cause Firefox to think that an older version is newer?
Maybe try another internet time server.
It's set to time.apple.com. The only alternatives offered are Apple Asia or Europe time servers. I'll try Europe, but I'm skeptical (I'm in the US midwest).
However, it certainly does seem like the problem could be somehow time-related, because it happens every morning around 9:30 or so Central U.S. time. Are there other places in Mac OS from which Firefox could be mis-reading the time?
Changing the time server did NOT resolve the problem. Again this morning Firefox went back to 69.0.3 and re-updated to 70.0.1.
Interesting. Here is a bugzilla thread about the very problem I'm experiencing. And it appears to be on a Windows machine, not a Mac.
Unfortunately, it peters out when the owner decides that his company's IT department might be pushing out an older version, and he closes the bug ticket without ever coming back and confirming an outcome. I have no IT department or other mechanism that would be pushing out bad updates to Firefox, and no one else in my org is experiencing this.
But the behavior described is otherwise identical to what I'm experiencing.